Are hotel groups reversing their position regarding their activities in Russia? Shortly after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, most of them had announced in turn that they would not be operating in Russia. the suspension of future developments and their investments in Russia. Some of them, such as Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott and Radisson, also decided to close their Moscow offices. However, neither they nor Accor decided at the time to suspend their activities there, on the assumption that they would remain there to support their teams and the local population.
But as the conflict drags on and the measures taken by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom become more coercive, this position is changing. Marriott was the first, on 3 June, to announce that it had taken the decision to suspend all its operations in Russiawhile stressing that this process " in a market where Marriott has been operating for 25 years " was " complex" . According to the US group's press release, the development of sanctions against Russia makes it impossible to ". continue to operate or franchise hotels in the Russian market."
Following in Marriott's footsteps, the British group IHG took an identical measure on 27 June: " We are in the process of ceasing all our activities in Russia, in line with developments in the UK, US and EU sanctions regimesand the constant and growing challenges of operating in this country. " At the beginning of April, the Group began talks with the owners of its 28 hotels in Russia. concerning the complex long-term management and franchise agreements under which these hotels are operated" .
While IHG and Marriott have begun the process of winding down their operations, the other major players in the global hotel industry have not yet made a decision. not yet gone so far as to announce such measures. According to Reuters, Accor reaffirmed on 22 June last " staying in Russia" This is a country where the group has around sixty hotels and 4,000 employees. The group also explained that it was not making any money from its business in Russia, and that it had to do " the distinction between the Kremlin and the Russian population" . As a reminder, however, the group said in March that it had withdrawn from its booking platform establishments whose owners were subject to European and American sanctions.
